After the abolition of the han system in 1871, Fukuyama Prefecture was founded. A short time later the prefecture was renamed Fukatsu. Fukatsu Prefecture was merged with Kurashiki Prefecture in 1872 to form Oda Prefecture. In 1875 Oda Prefecture was merged into Okayama Prefecture.

When the border between Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures was re-arranged in 1876, Fukuyama Town became a part of Hiroshima Prefecture.

Fukuyama Town became Fukuyama City on July 1, 1916. The population of the city at that time was 32,356.

The city is a regional rail hub and a stop on the coastal Sanyō line as well as a terminus for the Fukuen line extending north into Hiroshima Prefecture. Additionally, three types of Shinkansen train on the Sanyō Shinkansen line (limited express Nozomi, express Hikari and local Kodama) stop there, making the city easily accessible from anywhere in Japan.

Regional and city buses carry passengers throughout the city and link it to other cities in the region. Some of the cities reachable by highway bus are Hiroshima, Kobe, Kyoto, Matsue, Okayama, Osaka, Tokyo and Yonago.

Fukuyama is home to some 70 elementary schools, several dozen junior high schools and roughly twenty high schools, both public and private. Fukuyama University is located in the northwestern district of Matsunaga. The university offers many courses of study, but is best known for its excellent pharmacology program. Fukuyama City Junior College for Women is located in the Kita Honjo district.

The Holocaust Education Center in Fukuyama, inaugurated on June 17, 1995, is dedicated to the memory of 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust. It has the distinction of being the first institution in Japan devoted to Holocaust education.

Fukuyama is home to several large department stores, including Lotz, Tenmaya, and Ito Yokado/Happy Town/Port Plaza. Kannabe-cho is home to the department store Fuji Grand. Many shops selling traditional Japanese goods can be found along the city's Hondori (covered shopping arcade), as well as throughout the city.

Further away from the center of town are the districts of Matsunaga, known for its traditional Japanese footwear, called geta, and Tomo-no-Ura, a fishing village known for its traditional sea bream netting display every May.